
those of divine appointment. Men cling
to their traditions, and revere their customs,
and cherish hatred against those who seek
to show them their error. In this day, when
we are bidden to call attention to the com-
mandments of God and the faith of Jesus,
we see the same enmity as was manifested
in the, days of Christ."—The
Desire of
Ages,
page 398.
5.
Why was Christ moved with
compassion as He viewed the multi-
tudes? How did He seek to help
them? Mark 6:34; Matt. 14:14.
NoTE.—"In the parables which Christ
had spoken, it was His purpose both to
warn the rulers and to instruct the people
who were willing to be taught. But there
was need to speak yet more plainly.
Through their reverence for tradition and
their blind faith in a corrupt priesthood,
the people were enslaved. These chains
Christ must break."—The
Desire of Ages,
pages 611, 612.
6.
What scathing words of con-
demnation revealed the spiritual con-
dition of religious leaders of Israel?
Matt. 23:23-28.
NoTE.—"All that God commands is of
consequence. Christ recognized the pay-
ment of tithes as a duty; but He showed
that this could not excuse the neglect of
other duties. The Pharisees were very
exact in tithing garden herbs, such as
mint, anise, and rue; this cost them little,
and it gave them a reputation for exact-
ness and sanctity. At the same time their
useless restrictions oppressed the people
and destroyed respect for the sacred system
of God's own appointing. They occupied
men's minds with trifling distinctions, and
turned their attention from essential
truths. The weightier matters of the law,
justice, mercy, and truth, were neglected.
`These,' Christ said, 'ought ye to have
done, and not to leave the other undone.'"
—The Desire of Ages,
page 617.
7.
What attitude had the Jews
taken toward the various endeavors
God had made to warn them of their
condition? Matt. 23:31, 34-36. Com-
pare Luke 16:31.
NOTE.—"The Pharisees built the tombs
of the prophets, and adorned their sep-
ulchers, and said one to another, If we
had lived in the days of our fathers, we
would not have united with them in shed-
ding the blood of God's servants. At the
same time they were planning to take the
life of His Son. This should be a lesson
to us. It should open our eyes to the
power of Satan to deceive the mind that
turns from the light of truth. Many fol-
low in the track of the Pharisees. They
revere those who have died for their faith.
They wonder at the blindness of the Jews
in rejecting Christ. Had we lived in His
day, they declare, we would gladly have
received His teaching; we would never have
been partakers in the guilt of those who
rejected the Saviour. But when obedience
to God requires self-denial and humiliation,
these very persons stifle their convictions,
and refuse obedience. Thus they manifest
the same spirit as did the Pharisees whom
Christ condemned."—The
Desire of Ages,
page 618.
Literal Israel Rejects Christ
8.
When Jesus came to this world,
what was the attitude of His people
toward Him? John 1:11, 12.
NoTE.—"Christ 'came unto His own, and
His own received Him not.' John 1:11. The
light of God shone into the darkness of the
world, and 'the darkness comprehended it
not.' John 1:5. But not all were found
indifferent to the gift of heaven. The
merchantman in the parable represents a
class who were sincerely desiring truth.
In different nations there were earnest and
thoughtful men who had sought in liter-
ature and science and the religions of the
heathen world for that which they could
receive as the soul's treasure. Among the
Jews there were those who were seeking
for that which they had not. Dissatisfied
with a formal religion, they longed for that
which was spiritual and uplifting. Christ's
chosen disciples belonged to the latter class,
Cornelius and the Ethiopian eunuch to the
former. They had been longing and pray-
ing for light from heaven; and when Christ
was revealed to them, they received Him
with.
gladness."—Christ's Object Lessons,
page 116.
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